π️Lonny's War Update- October 298, 2023 - July 30, 2024 π️
π️Day 298 that 115 of our hostages in Hamas captivity
**There is nothing more important than getting them home! NOTHING!**
“I’ve never met them,But I miss them. I’ve never met them,but I think of them every second. I’ve never met them,but they are my family. BRING THEM HOME NOW!!!”
As we watch our kids climb onto the camp bus and say goodbye for the summer, we are reminded of Omer Neutra’s favorite memories of summer camp at Young Judea Sprout Lake.
Right now Omer is wishing he could be swimming in the lake and playing with his counselors. Omer deserves to be back home in America enjoying his summer, not in a tunnel in Gaza being terrorized by hamas.
We must continue to demand Omer Neutra’s return.
#BringThemHomeNow
As we watch our kids climb onto the camp bus and say goodbye for the summer, we are reminded of Omer Neutra’s favorite memories of summer camp at Young Judea Sprout Lake.
Right now Omer is wishing he could be swimming in the lake and playing with his counselors. Omer deserves to be back home in America enjoying his summer, not in a tunnel in Gaza being terrorized by hamas.
We must continue to demand Omer Neutra’s return.
#BringThemHomeNow
There is no victory until all of the hostages are home!ΧΧΧ Χ Χ¦ΧΧΧ Χ’Χ Χ©ΧΧ ΧΧΧΧΧ€ΧΧ ΧΧΧΧͺ
Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks and Death Announcements
*1:30am - north - rockets - Hanita - At least five projectiles were launched at Israel from Lebanon overnight but failed to cross into Israeli territory, the Walla news site reports, without citing a source. During the night, a rocket siren sounded in Kibbutz Hanita near the Lebanon border in the Western Galilee. There is no comment from the Israeli military and no claim of an attack from Hezbollah.*2:55pm- north- rockets - Kiryat Shemona, Beit Hillel, Sha'ar Hayeshuv, Dafna, Hagoshrim, Kfar Giladi, Tel Hai, Maayan Baruch, Kfar Yuval*3:50pm - North - hostile aircraft - Kfar Yuval, Dafna, Hagoshrim, Ajar, Kibbutz Dan, Sha'ar Hayeshuv, Snir, Kfar Giladi, Beit Hillel, Metulla, Manara, Maayan Baruch, Margaliot, Misgav Am, Kiryat Shemona
*4:25pm - north - rockets- Beit Hillel, Kiryat Shemona, Hagoshrim - An Israeli man was killed in a Hezbollah rocket strike on kibbutz Hagoshrim outside of his house
*6:10pm - north - rockets - Yiftach, Mevo'ot Hermon
*7:20pm - north - rockets - Kfar Szold, Kfar Giladi, Kiryat Shemona, Tel Hai, Hagoshrim, El Rom
*4:25pm - north - rockets- Beit Hillel, Kiryat Shemona, Hagoshrim - An Israeli man was killed in a Hezbollah rocket strike on kibbutz Hagoshrim outside of his house
*6:10pm - north - rockets - Yiftach, Mevo'ot Hermon
*7:20pm - north - rockets - Kfar Szold, Kfar Giladi, Kiryat Shemona, Tel Hai, Hagoshrim, El Rom
Hostage Updates
Today us Omri Miran’s birthday
Omri Miran, 46, was taken captive on October 7 by Hamas terrorists from Kibbutz Nahal Oz, leaving his wife, Lishay Miran, 38, and their two small daughters.
Roni, 2, and Alma, 6 months old, were both still sleeping when the sirens began sounding in Nahal Oz, waking their parents who put the girls into the safe room. As the morning progressed, Omri and Lishay began realizing that a more significant attack was taking place.
At 10:30 a.m., the window in their bathroom was kicked in and terrorists entered their house. Omri and Lishay tried to keep their daughters quiet in the safe room, and had two knives with them to try and protect themselves.
The terrorists began yelling outside the safe room door, and brought a 16-year-old neighbor, Tomer Arbe-Eliaz, who asked them to open the door, otherwise the terrorists would hurt him. “We opened the door,” Lishay later told Ynet.
They were all seated in the living room, with Roni, the two-year-old, still sleeping in the safe room. Lishay begged the terrorists to let her get Roni, and they allowed Tomer to get her.
At one point, the terrorists appeared to be ready to kill them, and then decided to take the entire family to the neighbor’s house, another family living across the way.
Both families were seated on the floor, while the 18-year-old daughter of the neighboring family had been killed by the terrorists in their safe room.
At around 1 p.m., two more women were brought to the house, one of whom was American and spoke English. Thirty minutes later, the terrorists told Omri and the father of the other family to stand, and they took them, with their car keys to their cars. Minutes later, said Lishay, she saw them driving away.
“I had told Omri minutes before, “I love you, I’ll protect our girls, we’re waiting for you, and don’t be a hero,” she told Ynet. Lishay and her girls, along with her neighbors, sat for another four hours until IDF soldiers found then at 5:30 p.m.
In April, A video of Israeli hostages Keith Siegel and Omri Miran was released by Hamas’ military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, on Saturday.
In the video, Siegel and Miran spoke about not being able to celebrate Passover with their loved ones because they are in Hamas captivity.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned in last night’s security cabinet meeting that Israel’s updated proposal could result in “missing the opportunity” to close a hostage deal, reports Channel 13.
“We already decided to allow the movement to the north [of Gazan civilians], and if it doesn’t happen, there won’t be an agreement,” he reportedly said, referring to a key Hamas demand.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir asked, “Then you don’t have a problem with armed terrorists going north?”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich insisted that the Israeli proposal from May 27 that US President Joe Biden had presented was not formally approved.
According to the report, both Science and Technology Minister Gila Gamliel, and Transportation Minister Miri Regev stress the urgent need to free the hostages, as they are dying in captivity.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ended the conversation by pointing out that the focus of the conversation is Israel’s response to Hezbollah, and that another meeting can be called to debate hostage talks.
"Netanyahu will not be remembered as Mr. Security or Mr. Economy, but in the blood of my son, his friends and our friends, Netanyahu will be remembered as Mr. Abandonment"
This was said yesterday at a demonstration in Tel Aviv by Dr. Maayan Sherman, mother of the late Ron who was kidnapped alive and killed.
She referred to the circumstances of his death and said: "My son ended up in a tunnel, when it was decided to sacrifice him in a bombing on Ahmed Randur, Hamas's northern Gaza Strip brigade commander, along with the hostages with him. Ron was buried in an Israeli grave. He, who was kidnapped alive and returned dead, unwillingly became a resounding exclamation mark on nine months of abandonment, and on what could happen right now if Prime Minister Netanyahu continues to deliberately sabotage the chance for a life-saving deal."
Maayan told the audience about the book "Mr. Abandonment" being published by families of hostages and said: "Netanyahu abandoned hundreds of citizens and soldiers on October 7th and continues to abandon even now the hostages who are still in Hamas tunnels. This will be his legacy - the abandoner of hostages.
He will not be remembered as Mr. Security or Mr. Economy, but in the blood of my son, his friends and our friends, Netanyahu will be remembered as Mr. Abandonment."
Help us publish and print more and more copies of the book that immortalizes the legacy of the abandoner of hostages!
Support the project with any amount you can, maybe we can save some of them. link to support
IDF Assessment: "At the End of the War, There Will Be Missing Persons Like Ron Arad" (Ron Arad, was an Israeli Air Force weapon systems officer who has officially been classified as missing in action since October 1986. Arad was lost on a mission over Lebanon and is believed to have been captured by the militant group Amal and later handed over to Hezbollah. His body was never recovered or found)
Fighters from Division 98 completed their maneuver in Khan Yunis after 8 days in which they encountered more and more individual terrorists • Behind the division's operation in Khan Yunis: captured terrorists who provided intelligence on the nature of the tunnels - and the strategy that was changed during the operation • Dramatic footage from inside a tunnel: An armed terrorist approached the forces - and was eliminated
Fighters from Division 98 finished maneuvering in Khan Yunis after 8 days of fighting. There, the forces fought in various areas - where Mohammed Deif and Yahya Sinwar were also staying. Against the background of the operation, the assessment in the IDF rises: "At the end of the war, there will be missing persons like Ron Arad."
In the operation in the terror stronghold, several Hamas terrorists were captured, who shed light and information on the nature of the terrorist organization's tunnels. In addition, the IDF's strategy for dealing with tunnels was changed: at the beginning of the war, every shaft was destroyed, and now the forces enter the tunnels - and fight inside them.
For example, this can be seen in dramatic footage revealed this evening by the IDF spokesperson, showing a soldier encountering an armed terrorist in a tunnel. As seen in the footage, the terrorist approached the force with a weapon, was identified - and immediately eliminated. According to the IDF, this was Mohammed Jamil Mohammed Astal, a commander in the sniping array in the Khan Yunis area.
The division completed 75% of the operational achievement defined for it in the terror stronghold.
* The division maneuvered for only 8 days in the Khan Yunis area, and encountered individual and unorganized terrorists, as at the beginning of the war.
* The IDF emphasizes that the terrorists are forced to leave the tunnels due to physical and mental difficulties.
Additionally, the IDF released footage of a deep underground route exposed by the forces. According to the IDF spokesperson, Division 98 fighters destroyed more than 100 kilometers of underground, located dozens of senior officials' complexes, and tunnels where hostages were even hidden.
These documentations come after Division 98 completed its activity in the Khan Yunis area last night. The brigade combat teams of 7, Paratroopers, and Commando operated in the area for about a week, eliminated more than 150 terrorists, destroyed terror tunnels, ammunition warehouses, terror infrastructure, and located weapons.
Last week, the division's fighters rescued the kidnapped Mia Goren z"l in a joint operation with the Shin Bet, and the bodies of the kidnapped Ravid Aryeh Katz, Oren Goldin, Sergeant Tomer Ahimas, and Corporal Kiril Brodsky z"l who were kidnapped and murdered by Hamas in the October 7 attack.
Meanwhile, forces from Division 252 are currently operating in the central Gaza Strip, raiding specific locations, eliminating terrorists, and destroying terror infrastructure. In the last day, Israeli Air Force aircraft in cooperation with the Alexandroni Brigade (3) combat team eliminated a Hamas terrorist cell operating inside a building in the area. link
Hostage Updates
Today us Omri Miran’s birthday
Omri Miran, 46, was taken captive on October 7 by Hamas terrorists from Kibbutz Nahal Oz, leaving his wife, Lishay Miran, 38, and their two small daughters.
Roni, 2, and Alma, 6 months old, were both still sleeping when the sirens began sounding in Nahal Oz, waking their parents who put the girls into the safe room. As the morning progressed, Omri and Lishay began realizing that a more significant attack was taking place.
At 10:30 a.m., the window in their bathroom was kicked in and terrorists entered their house. Omri and Lishay tried to keep their daughters quiet in the safe room, and had two knives with them to try and protect themselves.
The terrorists began yelling outside the safe room door, and brought a 16-year-old neighbor, Tomer Arbe-Eliaz, who asked them to open the door, otherwise the terrorists would hurt him. “We opened the door,” Lishay later told Ynet.
They were all seated in the living room, with Roni, the two-year-old, still sleeping in the safe room. Lishay begged the terrorists to let her get Roni, and they allowed Tomer to get her.
At one point, the terrorists appeared to be ready to kill them, and then decided to take the entire family to the neighbor’s house, another family living across the way.
Both families were seated on the floor, while the 18-year-old daughter of the neighboring family had been killed by the terrorists in their safe room.
At around 1 p.m., two more women were brought to the house, one of whom was American and spoke English. Thirty minutes later, the terrorists told Omri and the father of the other family to stand, and they took them, with their car keys to their cars. Minutes later, said Lishay, she saw them driving away.
“I had told Omri minutes before, “I love you, I’ll protect our girls, we’re waiting for you, and don’t be a hero,” she told Ynet. Lishay and her girls, along with her neighbors, sat for another four hours until IDF soldiers found then at 5:30 p.m.
In April, A video of Israeli hostages Keith Siegel and Omri Miran was released by Hamas’ military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, on Saturday.
In the video, Siegel and Miran spoke about not being able to celebrate Passover with their loved ones because they are in Hamas captivity.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned in last night’s security cabinet meeting that Israel’s updated proposal could result in “missing the opportunity” to close a hostage deal, reports Channel 13.
“We already decided to allow the movement to the north [of Gazan civilians], and if it doesn’t happen, there won’t be an agreement,” he reportedly said, referring to a key Hamas demand.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir asked, “Then you don’t have a problem with armed terrorists going north?”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich insisted that the Israeli proposal from May 27 that US President Joe Biden had presented was not formally approved.
According to the report, both Science and Technology Minister Gila Gamliel, and Transportation Minister Miri Regev stress the urgent need to free the hostages, as they are dying in captivity.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ended the conversation by pointing out that the focus of the conversation is Israel’s response to Hezbollah, and that another meeting can be called to debate hostage talks.
"Netanyahu will not be remembered as Mr. Security or Mr. Economy, but in the blood of my son, his friends and our friends, Netanyahu will be remembered as Mr. Abandonment"
This was said yesterday at a demonstration in Tel Aviv by Dr. Maayan Sherman, mother of the late Ron who was kidnapped alive and killed.
She referred to the circumstances of his death and said: "My son ended up in a tunnel, when it was decided to sacrifice him in a bombing on Ahmed Randur, Hamas's northern Gaza Strip brigade commander, along with the hostages with him. Ron was buried in an Israeli grave. He, who was kidnapped alive and returned dead, unwillingly became a resounding exclamation mark on nine months of abandonment, and on what could happen right now if Prime Minister Netanyahu continues to deliberately sabotage the chance for a life-saving deal."
Maayan told the audience about the book "Mr. Abandonment" being published by families of hostages and said: "Netanyahu abandoned hundreds of citizens and soldiers on October 7th and continues to abandon even now the hostages who are still in Hamas tunnels. This will be his legacy - the abandoner of hostages.
He will not be remembered as Mr. Security or Mr. Economy, but in the blood of my son, his friends and our friends, Netanyahu will be remembered as Mr. Abandonment."
Help us publish and print more and more copies of the book that immortalizes the legacy of the abandoner of hostages!
Support the project with any amount you can, maybe we can save some of them. link to support
IDF Assessment: "At the End of the War, There Will Be Missing Persons Like Ron Arad" (Ron Arad, was an Israeli Air Force weapon systems officer who has officially been classified as missing in action since October 1986. Arad was lost on a mission over Lebanon and is believed to have been captured by the militant group Amal and later handed over to Hezbollah. His body was never recovered or found)
Fighters from Division 98 completed their maneuver in Khan Yunis after 8 days in which they encountered more and more individual terrorists • Behind the division's operation in Khan Yunis: captured terrorists who provided intelligence on the nature of the tunnels - and the strategy that was changed during the operation • Dramatic footage from inside a tunnel: An armed terrorist approached the forces - and was eliminated
Fighters from Division 98 finished maneuvering in Khan Yunis after 8 days of fighting. There, the forces fought in various areas - where Mohammed Deif and Yahya Sinwar were also staying. Against the background of the operation, the assessment in the IDF rises: "At the end of the war, there will be missing persons like Ron Arad."
In the operation in the terror stronghold, several Hamas terrorists were captured, who shed light and information on the nature of the terrorist organization's tunnels. In addition, the IDF's strategy for dealing with tunnels was changed: at the beginning of the war, every shaft was destroyed, and now the forces enter the tunnels - and fight inside them.
For example, this can be seen in dramatic footage revealed this evening by the IDF spokesperson, showing a soldier encountering an armed terrorist in a tunnel. As seen in the footage, the terrorist approached the force with a weapon, was identified - and immediately eliminated. According to the IDF, this was Mohammed Jamil Mohammed Astal, a commander in the sniping array in the Khan Yunis area.
The division completed 75% of the operational achievement defined for it in the terror stronghold.
* The division maneuvered for only 8 days in the Khan Yunis area, and encountered individual and unorganized terrorists, as at the beginning of the war.
* The IDF emphasizes that the terrorists are forced to leave the tunnels due to physical and mental difficulties.
Additionally, the IDF released footage of a deep underground route exposed by the forces. According to the IDF spokesperson, Division 98 fighters destroyed more than 100 kilometers of underground, located dozens of senior officials' complexes, and tunnels where hostages were even hidden.
These documentations come after Division 98 completed its activity in the Khan Yunis area last night. The brigade combat teams of 7, Paratroopers, and Commando operated in the area for about a week, eliminated more than 150 terrorists, destroyed terror tunnels, ammunition warehouses, terror infrastructure, and located weapons.
Last week, the division's fighters rescued the kidnapped Mia Goren z"l in a joint operation with the Shin Bet, and the bodies of the kidnapped Ravid Aryeh Katz, Oren Goldin, Sergeant Tomer Ahimas, and Corporal Kiril Brodsky z"l who were kidnapped and murdered by Hamas in the October 7 attack.
Meanwhile, forces from Division 252 are currently operating in the central Gaza Strip, raiding specific locations, eliminating terrorists, and destroying terror infrastructure. In the last day, Israeli Air Force aircraft in cooperation with the Alexandroni Brigade (3) combat team eliminated a Hamas terrorist cell operating inside a building in the area. link
Gaza
- The IDF’s 98th Division has withdrawn from southern Gaza’s Khan Younis after operating there for just over a week, the military says.
Amid the operation, the IDF says that troops with the division killed over 150 terror operatives. The division also demolished tunnels and other sites used by Hamas, and recovered the bodies of five hostages.
Meanwhile, a prominent Hamas commander responsible for anti-tank fire in the terror group’s Nuseirat Battalion was killed in a drone strike, the IDF says.
Additionally, reservists with the 252nd Division operating in the Netzarim Corridor area killed several gunmen during raids on Hamas sites, the military adds.
Amid the operation, the IDF says that troops with the division killed over 150 terror operatives. The division also demolished tunnels and other sites used by Hamas, and recovered the bodies of five hostages.
Meanwhile, a prominent Hamas commander responsible for anti-tank fire in the terror group’s Nuseirat Battalion was killed in a drone strike, the IDF says.
Additionally, reservists with the 252nd Division operating in the Netzarim Corridor area killed several gunmen during raids on Hamas sites, the military adds.
Northern Israel - Lebanon/Hizbollah/Syria
An Israeli man was killed in a Hezbollah rocket strike on a kibbutz in northern Israel on Tuesday afternoon, as tensions escalate between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group after its deadly rocket attack on the Golan Heights over the weekend.
Medics declared the death of an Israeli civilian in his 30s who was fatally wounded after a rocket hit Kibbutz HaGoshrim in the Upper Galilee. (His name has not yet been released - May his memory forever be a blessing)
The IDF said that 10 rockets were fired from Lebanon in the attack, and most were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had launched dozens of rockets at a nearby military base
The military said it was shelling the launch site with artillery, while earlier, fighter jets struck a Hezbollah site in southern Lebanon’s Jibchit.
Lebanon has been bracing for retaliation from Israel since a Hezbollah rocket attack on Saturday killed 12 children and teenagers at a soccer field. Israel and the US have blamed Hezbollah for the rocket strike, though the group, which admitted launching missiles at the area where the attack occurred, has denied responsibility.
The Israel Defense Forces says it carried out a series of strikes in southern Lebanon overnight.
The military says it attacked with drones, fighter jets and artillery in seven areas across the border.
The military says the strikes killed a Hezbollah terrorist in the Beit Lif area and destroyed what is says was an arms depot, terror infrastructure, military bases and launchers used by Hezbollah. The IDF publishes footage of the strikes. video
Sixteen children wounded in the Hezbollah rocket attack on the northern Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights on Saturday are still hospitalized, including seven in a serious condition.
Eight of the wounded are in Ziv Medical Center including three in serious condition; two of them are still sedated and ventilated. All three have abdominal injuries, chest injuries, and limb fractures, the hospital says.
One child is in moderate condition and four others are Four others are lightly wounded, mainly suffering from shrapnel injuries. One child is in moderate condition.
The Rambam Medical Center in Haifa says that 5 children are still hospitalized. Three are in serious condition, sedated and ventilated in the pediatric intensive care unit; two children are in mild condition in the pediatric surgery unit. All are suffering from shrapnel injuries.
There are three children at Tsafon Medical Center (Pouriya) near Tiberias. One remains in serious condition and another in moderate condition. A third child is expected to be discharged soon.
Israeli fighter jets struck a Hezbollah operative post in Ayta ash-Shab and other infrastructure in Kafr Kila a short while ago, the IDF says.
Some 15 rockets were launched at the Upper Galilee in the past few hours, with impacts in the Yi’ron, Yiftah and Metula areas.
Also this afternoon, several explosive-laden drones launched from Lebanon impacted the Beit Hillel area, the IDF says.
The impacts sparked fires in several areas, which firefighters are working to extinguish. There are no injuries in the attacks, and the IDF says it is shelling the launch sites.
"Debating How to Respond - While Hezbollah Bombards": Anger in the Abandoned North, After the 13th Casualty in a Week
Local authorities and residents in the north are furious over the lack of response to Hezbollah attacks. "What are you waiting for? Have you gone mad?" wondered the mayor of Kiryat Shmona. A city resident: "This is the picture of deterrence - another murdered." A resident of one of the non-evacuated kibbutzim in the Hula Valley: "They're abandoning us, the government is busy with other things"
Three days after the massacre in Majdal Shams, where 12 children were murdered, and after a 30-year-old civilian was killed in the afternoon (Tuesday) by a direct rocket hit in Kibbutz HaGoshrim in the Upper Galilee, local authorities and residents in the north are angry about the delay in the IDF's retaliatory attack. "Tell me, have you gone mad? What are you waiting for?" wondered Kiryat Shmona Mayor Avichai Stern - and criticized: "Is this how you restore deterrence to the north?"
Shortly after the civilian's death was confirmed, Stern said: "Government of Israel, Prime Minister, Defense Minister, Cabinet members - we haven't yet recovered from the terrible massacre on Saturday night in Majdal Shams, and the other side, instead of being deterred underground and in tunnels fearing the response, still dares to fire at us."
City resident Rafael Saleb, one of the leaders of the "Fighting for the North" headquarters, said in response to the severe hit that the "picture of deterrence" is "another murdered": "Whoever wants to know what the deterrence of the State of Israel looks like - this is it. A picture of another citizen murdered by a Hezbollah missile. This can't happen. Let the IDF win, be on the initiating side and not on the responding side."
Stern expressed himself similarly last night, when he called on the government to respond to Hezbollah's fire as it responded to the drone strike launched by the Houthis from Yemen on Tel Aviv. "The government and the army have already determined what the price tag is for a casualty in Tel Aviv, when in less than 24 hours they went out to attack at a distance of 2,000 kilometers and without even convening the cabinet in advance," he said. "According to the same price tag set by Gallant when he said that 'Israeli blood is not cheap', the same equation should have been seen here in the north, and the price that Lebanon should have paid is at least 12 times the price paid in burning Yemen. No less."
Raanan Alexander (46), who lives in the non-evacuated Kibbutz Neot Mordechai in the Hula Valley, said: "I'm in shock and everyone here is in shock from the casualty in the kibbutz. Our kibbutz is not evacuated. We've become the front line right now, along with seven other settlements here. The situation is not simple, there are barrages and sirens here and there's no reaction time. The moment there's a siren we fly to the shelter. We're always near shelters and safe rooms. What happened now in Kibbutz HaGoshrim makes us think twice about whether it's right to leave the children and family here."
According to him, "We just keep containing and containing and there's no red line here. It's sad and a feeling of helplessness here. It doesn't really interest any of the decision-makers. The government is busy with other things. In a moment, the school year starts here and it's not clear where they will study, what will happen with the kindergartens and daycare centers. Tough situation. We feel like we're being totally abandoned. They're not evacuating us but do everything so we can live here."
The "Lobby 1701" organization, representing 60,000 northern residents evacuated from their homes, stated: "The Israeli government is abandoning the blood of northern residents. In the cabinet they're still debating how to respond to the massacre in Majdal Shams, while Hezbollah continues to bombard: another day, another Israeli citizen killed. Another family destroyed. We must restore deterrence. The blood of northern citizens is not cheap. Government of Israel, wake up and fast."
The civilian was critically injured from the launch that hit a house yard, and MDA forces that arrived at the scene had to pronounce him dead after resuscitation efforts. The IDF spokesperson updated that 10 launches were identified crossing from Lebanon, with most of them intercepted. The police reported that several landing sites of ammunition items were identified in the Galilee Panhandle. In response, IDF forces attacked the sources of fire with artillery fire.
Meanwhile, in the Upper Galilee Regional Council, residents staying in evacuated kibbutzim from Yiftach eastward, including Menara, Misgav Am, Kfar Giladi, Ma'ayan Baruch, HaGoshrim, Dafna, Dan, and Snir were instructed to enter protected spaces. Residents of the eight non-evacuated valley kibbutzim were also asked to stay near protected spaces, reduce movement in the settlement and avoid gatherings, and exceptionally, the council also instructed to close the pools in these kibbutzim.
The fatal incident, as mentioned, occurs three days after 12 children and teenagers were killed by a Hezbollah rocket hit in Majdal Shams, and against the backdrop of threats from Israel for a response - which has not yet arrived. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday during his visit to the Druze settlement in the Golan that "our response will come, and it will be harsh." The Political-Security Cabinet indeed authorized Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to choose the manner of response to the massacre, but the timing for the response is still unclear.
Contrary to frequent calls for a sharp and immediate response, the chairman of the Confrontation Line Settlements Forum and head of the Mateh Asher Regional Council, Moshe Davidovich, said last night that "even if the blood is boiling now, revenge should be served cold, and with a big smile," and called on the government to act from the head and not from the gut: "We must strike them at the place and time we choose, so that they understand that they crossed all boundaries by firing at Israeli residents." Davidovich said these things during a visit to Majdal Shams, where he came to comfort the families who lost their children. "I want the IDF's response to be such that Hezbollah will feel it for years and ask itself whether it was right to harm any of Israel's residents, especially the residents of the confrontation line who have been in an inconceivable reality for 10 months."
The head of the Shlomi Council, Gabi Naaman, said last night that he will not tell the government how to respond, but emphasized that "our residents' demand is to reach a military decision and defeat the terrorist organization in the north. The waiting exhausts our residents and strengthens our enemies - preserving Nasrallah's power puts the state in existential danger in the next war." Even before the killing of the civilian by the rocket hit today, the heads of the authorities expressed their concern last night that as time passes, the pain from Hezbollah's massacre in Majdal Shams will weaken, the children's blood will dry and be wiped from the ground, and "Netanyahu will again postpone the end." Davidovich made it clear that "if someone thinks that time will do its thing and our senses will be dulled and the new troubles that will be imposed on us will make us forget this open account, I suggest to him - Don't." link
An Israeli man was killed in a Hezbollah rocket strike on a kibbutz in northern Israel on Tuesday afternoon, as tensions escalate between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group after its deadly rocket attack on the Golan Heights over the weekend.
Medics declared the death of an Israeli civilian in his 30s who was fatally wounded after a rocket hit Kibbutz HaGoshrim in the Upper Galilee. (His name has not yet been released - May his memory forever be a blessing)
The IDF said that 10 rockets were fired from Lebanon in the attack, and most were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it had launched dozens of rockets at a nearby military base
The military said it was shelling the launch site with artillery, while earlier, fighter jets struck a Hezbollah site in southern Lebanon’s Jibchit.
Lebanon has been bracing for retaliation from Israel since a Hezbollah rocket attack on Saturday killed 12 children and teenagers at a soccer field. Israel and the US have blamed Hezbollah for the rocket strike, though the group, which admitted launching missiles at the area where the attack occurred, has denied responsibility.
The Israel Defense Forces says it carried out a series of strikes in southern Lebanon overnight.
The military says it attacked with drones, fighter jets and artillery in seven areas across the border.
The military says the strikes killed a Hezbollah terrorist in the Beit Lif area and destroyed what is says was an arms depot, terror infrastructure, military bases and launchers used by Hezbollah. The IDF publishes footage of the strikes. video
Sixteen children wounded in the Hezbollah rocket attack on the northern Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights on Saturday are still hospitalized, including seven in a serious condition.
Eight of the wounded are in Ziv Medical Center including three in serious condition; two of them are still sedated and ventilated. All three have abdominal injuries, chest injuries, and limb fractures, the hospital says.
One child is in moderate condition and four others are Four others are lightly wounded, mainly suffering from shrapnel injuries. One child is in moderate condition.
The Rambam Medical Center in Haifa says that 5 children are still hospitalized. Three are in serious condition, sedated and ventilated in the pediatric intensive care unit; two children are in mild condition in the pediatric surgery unit. All are suffering from shrapnel injuries.
There are three children at Tsafon Medical Center (Pouriya) near Tiberias. One remains in serious condition and another in moderate condition. A third child is expected to be discharged soon.
Israeli fighter jets struck a Hezbollah operative post in Ayta ash-Shab and other infrastructure in Kafr Kila a short while ago, the IDF says.
Some 15 rockets were launched at the Upper Galilee in the past few hours, with impacts in the Yi’ron, Yiftah and Metula areas.
Also this afternoon, several explosive-laden drones launched from Lebanon impacted the Beit Hillel area, the IDF says.
The impacts sparked fires in several areas, which firefighters are working to extinguish. There are no injuries in the attacks, and the IDF says it is shelling the launch sites.
"Debating How to Respond - While Hezbollah Bombards": Anger in the Abandoned North, After the 13th Casualty in a Week
Local authorities and residents in the north are furious over the lack of response to Hezbollah attacks. "What are you waiting for? Have you gone mad?" wondered the mayor of Kiryat Shmona. A city resident: "This is the picture of deterrence - another murdered." A resident of one of the non-evacuated kibbutzim in the Hula Valley: "They're abandoning us, the government is busy with other things"
Three days after the massacre in Majdal Shams, where 12 children were murdered, and after a 30-year-old civilian was killed in the afternoon (Tuesday) by a direct rocket hit in Kibbutz HaGoshrim in the Upper Galilee, local authorities and residents in the north are angry about the delay in the IDF's retaliatory attack. "Tell me, have you gone mad? What are you waiting for?" wondered Kiryat Shmona Mayor Avichai Stern - and criticized: "Is this how you restore deterrence to the north?"
Shortly after the civilian's death was confirmed, Stern said: "Government of Israel, Prime Minister, Defense Minister, Cabinet members - we haven't yet recovered from the terrible massacre on Saturday night in Majdal Shams, and the other side, instead of being deterred underground and in tunnels fearing the response, still dares to fire at us."
City resident Rafael Saleb, one of the leaders of the "Fighting for the North" headquarters, said in response to the severe hit that the "picture of deterrence" is "another murdered": "Whoever wants to know what the deterrence of the State of Israel looks like - this is it. A picture of another citizen murdered by a Hezbollah missile. This can't happen. Let the IDF win, be on the initiating side and not on the responding side."
Stern expressed himself similarly last night, when he called on the government to respond to Hezbollah's fire as it responded to the drone strike launched by the Houthis from Yemen on Tel Aviv. "The government and the army have already determined what the price tag is for a casualty in Tel Aviv, when in less than 24 hours they went out to attack at a distance of 2,000 kilometers and without even convening the cabinet in advance," he said. "According to the same price tag set by Gallant when he said that 'Israeli blood is not cheap', the same equation should have been seen here in the north, and the price that Lebanon should have paid is at least 12 times the price paid in burning Yemen. No less."
Raanan Alexander (46), who lives in the non-evacuated Kibbutz Neot Mordechai in the Hula Valley, said: "I'm in shock and everyone here is in shock from the casualty in the kibbutz. Our kibbutz is not evacuated. We've become the front line right now, along with seven other settlements here. The situation is not simple, there are barrages and sirens here and there's no reaction time. The moment there's a siren we fly to the shelter. We're always near shelters and safe rooms. What happened now in Kibbutz HaGoshrim makes us think twice about whether it's right to leave the children and family here."
According to him, "We just keep containing and containing and there's no red line here. It's sad and a feeling of helplessness here. It doesn't really interest any of the decision-makers. The government is busy with other things. In a moment, the school year starts here and it's not clear where they will study, what will happen with the kindergartens and daycare centers. Tough situation. We feel like we're being totally abandoned. They're not evacuating us but do everything so we can live here."
The "Lobby 1701" organization, representing 60,000 northern residents evacuated from their homes, stated: "The Israeli government is abandoning the blood of northern residents. In the cabinet they're still debating how to respond to the massacre in Majdal Shams, while Hezbollah continues to bombard: another day, another Israeli citizen killed. Another family destroyed. We must restore deterrence. The blood of northern citizens is not cheap. Government of Israel, wake up and fast."
The civilian was critically injured from the launch that hit a house yard, and MDA forces that arrived at the scene had to pronounce him dead after resuscitation efforts. The IDF spokesperson updated that 10 launches were identified crossing from Lebanon, with most of them intercepted. The police reported that several landing sites of ammunition items were identified in the Galilee Panhandle. In response, IDF forces attacked the sources of fire with artillery fire.
Meanwhile, in the Upper Galilee Regional Council, residents staying in evacuated kibbutzim from Yiftach eastward, including Menara, Misgav Am, Kfar Giladi, Ma'ayan Baruch, HaGoshrim, Dafna, Dan, and Snir were instructed to enter protected spaces. Residents of the eight non-evacuated valley kibbutzim were also asked to stay near protected spaces, reduce movement in the settlement and avoid gatherings, and exceptionally, the council also instructed to close the pools in these kibbutzim.
The fatal incident, as mentioned, occurs three days after 12 children and teenagers were killed by a Hezbollah rocket hit in Majdal Shams, and against the backdrop of threats from Israel for a response - which has not yet arrived. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday during his visit to the Druze settlement in the Golan that "our response will come, and it will be harsh." The Political-Security Cabinet indeed authorized Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to choose the manner of response to the massacre, but the timing for the response is still unclear.
Contrary to frequent calls for a sharp and immediate response, the chairman of the Confrontation Line Settlements Forum and head of the Mateh Asher Regional Council, Moshe Davidovich, said last night that "even if the blood is boiling now, revenge should be served cold, and with a big smile," and called on the government to act from the head and not from the gut: "We must strike them at the place and time we choose, so that they understand that they crossed all boundaries by firing at Israeli residents." Davidovich said these things during a visit to Majdal Shams, where he came to comfort the families who lost their children. "I want the IDF's response to be such that Hezbollah will feel it for years and ask itself whether it was right to harm any of Israel's residents, especially the residents of the confrontation line who have been in an inconceivable reality for 10 months."
The head of the Shlomi Council, Gabi Naaman, said last night that he will not tell the government how to respond, but emphasized that "our residents' demand is to reach a military decision and defeat the terrorist organization in the north. The waiting exhausts our residents and strengthens our enemies - preserving Nasrallah's power puts the state in existential danger in the next war." Even before the killing of the civilian by the rocket hit today, the heads of the authorities expressed their concern last night that as time passes, the pain from Hezbollah's massacre in Majdal Shams will weaken, the children's blood will dry and be wiped from the ground, and "Netanyahu will again postpone the end." Davidovich made it clear that "if someone thinks that time will do its thing and our senses will be dulled and the new troubles that will be imposed on us will make us forget this open account, I suggest to him - Don't." link
West Bank and Jerusalem
- A Palestinian who attempted to stab Israeli soldiers at a junction near the West Bank town of Beit Einun was shot, a military source says.
Politics and the War (general news)
- Dozens of right-wing protesters have broken into the IDF’s Beit Lid base in central Israel, where nine soldiers are being questioned over their alleged involvement in the serious abuse of a Palestinian detainee.
The soldiers were taken for questioning earlier today from the Sde Teiman detention facility in southern Israel.
A mob, including ultranationalist lawmakers and ministers, then infiltrated Sde Teiman in protest, before heading to Beit Lid where the soldiers are currently held.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “weak” and has lost control over his government, after lawmakers broke into the Sde Teiman military base earlier.
“The prime minister asked two hours ago to calm passions. Since then, journalists have been beaten, posters reading ‘the military advocate general to prison’ have been waved, and masked uniformed men with guns demonstrated against the IDF base of Beit Lid,” the statement reads.
“This is not a riot, this is an attempted coup by an armed militia against a weak prime minister who is unable to control his government,” Lapid adds.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant sends a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urging him investigate whether far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir ordered police not to stop a mob of right-wing protesters from overrunning two IDF bases.
“I call on you to act with a heavy hand against the coalition members who took part in the unrest and order an investigation to examine if the minister of national security prevented or delayed the police from responding to the violent incidents that members of his party took part in,” Gallant writes in the letter, which was made public.
Gallant says yesterday’s events at the two bases “seriously harm the security of the country and the authority of the government that exist due to the IDF.”
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir dismisses allegations that he ordered police not to stop a mob of right-wing protesters from overrunning two IDF bases yesterday and calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to probe, and then fire, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant instead.
Writing to Netanyahu, Ben Gvir calls Gallant’s concerns over his conduct “baseless” and demands that the premier look into whether the defense minister had advance warning of Hamas’s October 7 attack and intentionally refrained from bolstering the IDF’s presence on the Gaza border.
The alleged misdeeds on the part of the defense minister that Ben Gvir says require investigation are: conducting an independent defense policy, supporting protesters against the government’s judicial overhaul who refused to serve in the IDF reserves, and approving demolitions of Israeli construction in the West Bank to satisfy foreign interests.
Ben Gvir further demands to know if Gallant knew in advance that Military Police would arrive at the Sde Teiman base in southern Israel yesterday to arrest soldiers — and accuses him of working with “opposition elements” to bring down the government.
Ben Gvir’s letter comes in response to one sent to Netanyahu by Gallant, in which the defense minister calls on the prime minister “to act with a heavy hand against the coalition members who took part in the unrest and order an investigation to examine if the minister of national security prevented or delayed the police from responding to the violent incidents that members of his party took part in.”
After Military Police arrested nine soldiers suspected of mistreating a prisoner, members of Ben Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party set out to Sde Teiman, where politicians and activists broke in and demonstrated. Protesters and MKs later stormed the Beit Lid base where the suspects are being held.
Immigration Minister Ofir Sofer of the Religious Zionism party comes out against the far-right activists who broke into a military base where soldiers detained on suspicion of abusing a Palestinian detainee were taken for questioning.
“There is zero legitimacy to what happened at the IDF bases yesterday,” Sofer tells Army Radio. “And there need to be arrests.”
Asked about the participation of right-wing ministers and MKs in the events, including from his own party, Sofer says he believes that the politicians underestimated how far the protests would go.
“This needs to be a lesson as to how careful we need to be at a time like this, how things can get out of control,” he says, saying that politicians need to take responsibility.
Sofer also criticizes the Military Police for the way they handled the arrest of the nine Israel Defense Forces soldiers suspected of the serious abuse of a Palestinian terror detainee at the Sde Teiman military facility in southern Israel, saying they should be presumed innocent until proven otherwise.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says rioting harms the military, during a visit to troops at the Beit Lid base in central Israel, after a right-wing mob stormed the facility in protest of the questioning of reservists suspected of abusing a Palestinian detainee.
“We came to Beit Lid… to make sure that nothing more serious happens. The arrival of rioters and attempts to break into the bases is serious behavior, against the law, bordering on anarchy, harming the IDF, the security of the state and the war effort,” he says.
The United States is confident that a wider war between Israel and Hezbollah can be avoided, despite a deadly rocket attack in the Golan Heights that killed 12 children, the White House says.
US and Israeli officials had conversations at “multiple levels” over the weekend following the attack and the risk of a full-blown conflict is “exaggerated,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says.
“Nobody wants a broader war, and I’m confident that we’ll be able to avoid such an outcome,” Kirby says in a call with reporters.
“We all heard about this ‘all-out war’ at multiple points over the last 10 months. Those predictions were exaggerated then; quite frankly, we think they’re exaggerated now.”
The soldiers were taken for questioning earlier today from the Sde Teiman detention facility in southern Israel.
A mob, including ultranationalist lawmakers and ministers, then infiltrated Sde Teiman in protest, before heading to Beit Lid where the soldiers are currently held.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “weak” and has lost control over his government, after lawmakers broke into the Sde Teiman military base earlier.
“The prime minister asked two hours ago to calm passions. Since then, journalists have been beaten, posters reading ‘the military advocate general to prison’ have been waved, and masked uniformed men with guns demonstrated against the IDF base of Beit Lid,” the statement reads.
“This is not a riot, this is an attempted coup by an armed militia against a weak prime minister who is unable to control his government,” Lapid adds.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant sends a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urging him investigate whether far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir ordered police not to stop a mob of right-wing protesters from overrunning two IDF bases.
“I call on you to act with a heavy hand against the coalition members who took part in the unrest and order an investigation to examine if the minister of national security prevented or delayed the police from responding to the violent incidents that members of his party took part in,” Gallant writes in the letter, which was made public.
Gallant says yesterday’s events at the two bases “seriously harm the security of the country and the authority of the government that exist due to the IDF.”
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir dismisses allegations that he ordered police not to stop a mob of right-wing protesters from overrunning two IDF bases yesterday and calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to probe, and then fire, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant instead.
Writing to Netanyahu, Ben Gvir calls Gallant’s concerns over his conduct “baseless” and demands that the premier look into whether the defense minister had advance warning of Hamas’s October 7 attack and intentionally refrained from bolstering the IDF’s presence on the Gaza border.
The alleged misdeeds on the part of the defense minister that Ben Gvir says require investigation are: conducting an independent defense policy, supporting protesters against the government’s judicial overhaul who refused to serve in the IDF reserves, and approving demolitions of Israeli construction in the West Bank to satisfy foreign interests.
Ben Gvir further demands to know if Gallant knew in advance that Military Police would arrive at the Sde Teiman base in southern Israel yesterday to arrest soldiers — and accuses him of working with “opposition elements” to bring down the government.
Ben Gvir’s letter comes in response to one sent to Netanyahu by Gallant, in which the defense minister calls on the prime minister “to act with a heavy hand against the coalition members who took part in the unrest and order an investigation to examine if the minister of national security prevented or delayed the police from responding to the violent incidents that members of his party took part in.”
After Military Police arrested nine soldiers suspected of mistreating a prisoner, members of Ben Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party set out to Sde Teiman, where politicians and activists broke in and demonstrated. Protesters and MKs later stormed the Beit Lid base where the suspects are being held.
Immigration Minister Ofir Sofer of the Religious Zionism party comes out against the far-right activists who broke into a military base where soldiers detained on suspicion of abusing a Palestinian detainee were taken for questioning.
“There is zero legitimacy to what happened at the IDF bases yesterday,” Sofer tells Army Radio. “And there need to be arrests.”
Asked about the participation of right-wing ministers and MKs in the events, including from his own party, Sofer says he believes that the politicians underestimated how far the protests would go.
“This needs to be a lesson as to how careful we need to be at a time like this, how things can get out of control,” he says, saying that politicians need to take responsibility.
Sofer also criticizes the Military Police for the way they handled the arrest of the nine Israel Defense Forces soldiers suspected of the serious abuse of a Palestinian terror detainee at the Sde Teiman military facility in southern Israel, saying they should be presumed innocent until proven otherwise.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says rioting harms the military, during a visit to troops at the Beit Lid base in central Israel, after a right-wing mob stormed the facility in protest of the questioning of reservists suspected of abusing a Palestinian detainee.
“We came to Beit Lid… to make sure that nothing more serious happens. The arrival of rioters and attempts to break into the bases is serious behavior, against the law, bordering on anarchy, harming the IDF, the security of the state and the war effort,” he says.
The United States is confident that a wider war between Israel and Hezbollah can be avoided, despite a deadly rocket attack in the Golan Heights that killed 12 children, the White House says.
US and Israeli officials had conversations at “multiple levels” over the weekend following the attack and the risk of a full-blown conflict is “exaggerated,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says.
“Nobody wants a broader war, and I’m confident that we’ll be able to avoid such an outcome,” Kirby says in a call with reporters.
“We all heard about this ‘all-out war’ at multiple points over the last 10 months. Those predictions were exaggerated then; quite frankly, we think they’re exaggerated now.”
The Region and the World
- Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and Palestinian Islamic Jihad secretary general Ziyad Al-Nakhaleh meet with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian news agency IRNA reports.
The two terror leaders are in the Islamic Republic with their respective delegations for the swearing-in ceremony of newly elected Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian, which will be held this afternoon.
In a statement, Hamas announces that Haniyeh also held talks with Pezeshkian this morning, briefed him on the latest developments in Gaza, and thanked him for the Islamic Republic’s support.
The newly elected president also sat down with Nakhaleh yesterday and pledged his support for the “Palestinian resistance” and Iran’s efforts to achieve unity among Islamic countries against Israel, according to Palestinian media reports.
Personal Stories
The two terror leaders are in the Islamic Republic with their respective delegations for the swearing-in ceremony of newly elected Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian, which will be held this afternoon.
In a statement, Hamas announces that Haniyeh also held talks with Pezeshkian this morning, briefed him on the latest developments in Gaza, and thanked him for the Islamic Republic’s support.
The newly elected president also sat down with Nakhaleh yesterday and pledged his support for the “Palestinian resistance” and Iran’s efforts to achieve unity among Islamic countries against Israel, according to Palestinian media reports.
Acronyms and Glossary
ICC - International Criminal Court in the Hague
IJC - International Court of Justice in the Hague
MDA - Magen David Adom - Israel Ambulance Corp
PA - Palestinian Authority - President Mahmud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen
PMO- Prime Minister's Office
UAV - Unmanned Aerial vehicle, Drone. Could be used for surveillance and reconnaissance, or be weaponized with missiles or contain explosives for 'suicide' explosion mission
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